The present invention relates to a method of fabricating limb protective pads, and more particularly to such a limb protective pad fabrication method, which eliminates the process of riveting and, enables the finished protective pad to fit the limb comfortably.
FIG. 1 illustrates a limb protective pad fabrication method according to the prior art. This method comprises of the steps of:
(a) Formation of shield, where a shield 20 is injection molded from plastics, having a plurality of rivet holes 201 (see FIG. 2);
(b) Cutting of front panel, where a sheet of fabrics is properly cut, forming a front panel 21 (see FIG. 3);
(c) Cutting of foamed lining panel, where a sheet of foamed material is properly cut, forming a foamed lining panel 22 (see FIG. 4);
(d) Cutting of back panel, where a sheet of fabrics is properly cut, forming a back panel 23 (see FIG. 5);
(e) Riveting of shield, where the shield 20 is attached to front panel 21, and then the rivet holes 201 of the shield 20 are respectively and fixedly fastened to the front Panel 21 by a respective rivet 202 (see FIG. 6);
(f) Edging by stitching, where the foamed lining panel 22 is sandwiched in between the back panel 23 and the front panel 21, and then the front panel 21, the foamed lining panel 22 and the back panel 23 are fixedly fastened together by stitches, and binding straps 24, 25, 26 and 27 are simultaneously fastened to the front panel 21, the foamed lining panel 22 and the back panel 23 when stitching, and a finished protective pad 2 is thus obtained (see FIG. 7).
This limb protective pad fabrication method has drawbacks as outlined hereinafter:
1. Because every rivet hole 201 of the shield 20 must be respectively fastened to the front panel 21 by a respective rivet by labor, much labor is wasted, and the limb protective pad fabrication speed can not be accelerated.
2. The rivets tend to be covered with dust after a long use.
3. Because the front panel 21, the foamed lining panel 22 and the back panel 23 are fastened together by stitches, the three panels must be accurately aligned when stitching, and the finished product thus obtained does not fit the limb comfortably.
FIG. 8 illustrates another prior art limb protective pad fabrication method. This method comprises of the steps of:
(a) Formation of shield, where a shield 30 of the desired shape is injection molded from plastics (see FIG. 9);
(b) Cutting of front panel, where a sheet of fabrics is properly cut, forming a front panel 31 (see FIG. 10);
(c) Cutting of foamed lining panel, where a sheet of foamed material is properly cut, forming a foamed lining panel 32 (see FIG. 11);
(d) Cutting of back panel, where a sheet of fabrics is properly cut, forming a back panel 33 (see FIG. 12);
(e) Stitching of shield, where the shield 30 is attached to the front side wall of the front panel 31 and fixedly fastened thereto by stitches (see FIG. 13);
(f) Edging by stitching, where the foamed lining panel 32 is sandwiches in between the back panel 33 and the front panel 31, and then the front panel 31, the foamed lining panel 32 and the back panel 33 are fixedly fastened together by stitches, and binding straps 34, 35, 36 and 37 are simultaneously fastened to the front panel 31, the foamed lining panel 32 and the back panel 33 when stitching, and a finished protective pad 3 is thus obtained (see FIG. 14).
This limb protective pad fabrication method still has drawbacks as outlined hereinafter:
1. Because the shield 30 is fastened to the front panel 31 by stitches, much labor is required, and the fabrication speed is slow.
2. Becasue the front panel 31, the foamed lining panel 32 and the back panel 33 are fastened together by stitches, the three panels must be accurately aligned when stitching, and the finished product thus obtained does not fit the limb comfortably.
The present invention has been accomplished to provide a limb protective pad fabrication method, which eliminates the aforesaid drawbacks. According to the present invention, the limb protective pad fabrication method comprises the steps of (a) bonding a fabric front panel, a foamed lining panel and a fabric back panel to form a blank pad, (b) cutting the blank pad into a shaped pad subject to a predetermined shaped, (c) injection-molding a shield on the front panel of the shaped pad from a plastic material having a melting point at least 30.degree. C. below the melting point of the material for the front panel of the shaped pad, and (d) edging the border area of the shaped pad by stitches, enabling binding straps to be fastened to the shaped pad when stitching. Because the shield is directly molded on the front panel, less lobor is required, and the limb protective pad fabrication speed is greatly accelerated. Furthermore, because, the front panel, the foamed lining panel, and the back panel are bonded together, and then peripherally stitched, the finished product fits the user's limb comfortably, and will not easily be forced to deform.